Combination rack

ABSTRACT

A combination rack includes two upright boards, two locating rods detachably connected between the upright boards, a plurality of stretcher rods detachably connected between the upright boards, and a flexible sheet member connected between the first locating rod and the second locating rod and extended over the stretcher rods and adapted to hold things between the upright boards.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a combination rack and, more particularly, to such a combination rack, which can be alternatively arranged into one of a variety of forms for different storage purposes.

[0002] Regular home or office use shoe racks, cabinets, bookracks, CD racks and the like are commonly made of wooden, metal, or plastic material. These racks and cabinets include two types, namely, the fixed type and the folding type. Racks or cabinets of fixed type require much storage space either in use or not in use. Racks or cabinets of folding type can be folded up to minimize space occupation when not in use. However, the shape of a folding rack or cabinet is not variable when extended out. Because of this limitation, conventional racks or cabinets cannot be adjusted to fit different storage purposes, i.e., a shoe rack is constantly a shoe rack that cannot be adjusted to serve as a bookrack or CD rack.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0003] It is one object of the present invention to provide a combination rack, which is detachable. It is another object of the present invention to provide a combination rack, which can be alternatively adjusted into one of a variety of forms for different storage purposes. According to one aspect of the present invention, the combination rack comprises two upright boards, two locating rods detachably connected between the upright boards, a plurality of stretcher rods detachably connected between the upright boards, and a flexible sheet member connected between the first locating rod and the second locating rod and extended over the stretcher rods and adapted to hold things between the upright boards. According to another aspect of the present invention, the flexible sheet member has one end fixedly fastened to one locating rod, and the other end mounted with hook and loop materials for detachably adjustably fastened to the other locating rod. According to still another aspect of the present invention, the upright boards have complementary positioning flanges at top and bottom sides such that two or more combination racks can be attached together in a stack.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004]FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a combination rack according to the present invention.

[0005]FIG. 2 is an assembly view of the combination rack according to the present invention.

[0006]FIG. 3 illustrates two combination racks attached together in a stack and shoes carried on the flexible sheet member of each combination rack according to the present invention.

[0007]FIG. 4 shows the combination rack arranged into another form.

[0008]FIG. 5 shows an alternate form of the present invention.

[0009]FIG. 6 shows another alternate form of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0010] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a combination rack is shown comprised of two upright boards 1, a first locating rod 21, a second locating rod 22, a sheet member 2, and a plurality of stretcher rods 3;4. The upright boards 1 each comprise a plurality of mounting holes 11, a handle hole 13 near the top, and two complementary positioning flanges 12 respectively disposed at the top and bottom sides. The sheet member 2 is a sheet of flexible material, for example, spandex fabric, having two distal ends respectively fastened to the first locating rod 21 and the second locating rod 22. The locating rods 21;22 each have two mounting holes 211;221 on the respective two distal ends. The first locating rod 21 can be fixedly fastened to one end, namely, the first end of the sheet member 2. Alternatively, the first locating rod 21 can be detachably fastened to the first end of the sheet member 2. According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first locating rod 21 is fixedly fastened to the first end of the sheet member 2. The second locating rod 22 is adjustably fastened to the other end, namely, the second end of the sheet member 2. Strips of hook material 23 and strips of loop materials 24 are respectively stitched to the second end of the sheet member 2 for securing the second locating rod 22 to the second end of the sheet member 2. The stretcher rods 3;4 each have two mounting holes 31;41 on the respective two distal ends. The locating rods 21;22 and the stretcher rods 3;4 are respectively connected between the upright boards 1. Fastening elements, for example, screws or pins 5 are respectively fastened to the mounting holes 11 of the upright boards 1 and the mounting holes 211;221;31;41 of the locating rods 21;22 and stretcher rods 3;4 to secure the upright boards 1 and the rods 21;22;3;4 together. After installation of the rods 21;22;3;4, the second end of the sheet member 2 is moved over the stretcher rods 3;4 and then fastened to the second locating rod 22. When assembled, the combination rack can be used as a shoe rack (see FIG. 2). Because the upright boards 1 each have two complementary positioning flanges 12 respectively disposed at the top and bottom sides, two or more unit racks can be attached together in a stack to form a big scale combination rack (see FIG. 3).

[0011] Referring to FIG. 4 and FIG. 1 again, the two locating rods 21;22 are connected between the upright boards 1 near the top side at the same elevation, and the stretcher rods 3;4 are connected between the upright boards 1 near the bottom side below the elevation of the locating rods 21;22 to stretch the sheet member 2. According to this arrangement, the combination rack can be used as a magazine (book) rack.

[0012] Referring to FIG. 6, the first locating rod 21 is connected between the upright boards 1 at the back side near the top, the second locating rod 22 is connected between the upright boards 1 at the front side near the bottom, and the stretcher rods 3 are connected between the upright boards 1 at different elevations to stretch the sheet member 2. According to this arrangement, the combination rack can be used as a CD (compact disk) storage rack.

[0013]FIG. 6 shows still another application example of the present invention. According to this design, the combination rack can be used as a display rack.

[0014] A prototype of combination rack has been constructed with the features of FIGS. 1˜6. The combination rack functions smoothly to provide all of the features discussed earlier.

[0015] Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims. 

What the invention claimed is:
 1. A combination rack comprising: two upright boards, said upright boards each having a plurality of mounting holes; a first locating rod connected between said upright boards, said first locating rod having two mounting holes on two distal ends thereof respectively connected to one mounting hole of each of said upright boards; a second locating rod connected between said upright boards, said second locating rod having two mounting holes on two distal ends thereof respectively connected to one mounting hole of each of said upright boards; a plurality of stretcher rods respectively connected between said upright boards, said stretcher rods each having two mounting holes on respective two distal ends thereof respectively connected to one mounting hole of each of said upright boards; a plurality of fastening elements respectively fastened to the mounting holes of said upright boards and the mounting holes of said first locating rod, said second locating rod and said stretcher rods to secure said upright boards, said first locating rod, said second locating rod and said stretcher rods together; and a flexible sheet member connected between said first locating rod and said second locating rod and extended over said stretcher rods and adapted to hold things between said upright boards.
 2. The combination rack of claim 1 wherein said fastening elements are screws.
 3. The combination rack of claim 1 wherein said fastening elements are pins.
 4. The combination rack of claim 1 wherein said upright boards each have two complementary positioning flanges respectively disposed at top and bottom sides such that two combination racks can be attached together in a stack by engaging the bottom-sided positioning flanges of the upright boards of one combination rack with the top-sided positioning flanges of the upright boards of the other combination rack. 